The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

as the

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular ...

head to govern the Southwest Indian

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. The governor who is appointed for five years appoints the

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

and on the advice of the chief minister appoints his council of ministers. Even though the governor remains the ceremonial head of the state, the day-to-day running of the government is taken care of by the chief minister and his council of ministers in whom a great amount of

legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...

s are vested.

Administrative divisions

Karnataka State has been divided into 4 revenue divisions, 49 sub-divisions, 31 districts, 237

taluks A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, 747

hobli A hobli, nad or mágani is a cluster of adjoining villages administered together for tax and land tenure purposes in the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, India. This clustering of villages was formed mainly to streamline the collection of t ...

es/ revenue circles and 6,022 gram panchayats for administrative purposes. The state has 281 towns and 7 municipal corporations. Bangalore is the largest urban agglomeration. It is among the fastest growing cities in the world.

Political and administrative reorganization

took its present shape in 1956, when the states of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

and Coorg (Kodagu) were merged with the Kannada-speaking districts of the former states of

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, and Madras. Mysore state was made up of 10 districts: Bangalore, Kolar, Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, Hassan, Chikmagalur (Kadur), Shimoga and

Chitradurga Chitradurga is a city and the headquarters of Chitradurga district, which is located on the valley of the Vedavati river in the central part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Chitradurga is a place with historical significance which is locate ...

;

Bellary Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. History Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956. The Ballari ...

was transferred from Madras state to Mysore in 1953, when the new

Andhra State Andhra State (IAST: ; ) was a state in India created in 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The state was made up of this two distinct cultural regions – Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra. Andhra State did not incl ...

was created out of Madras' northern districts.

Kodagu Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

became a district, and Dakshina Kannada (South Kanara) district was transferred from

Madras state Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and ...

Uttara Kannada Uttara Kannada is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Uttara Kannada District is a major coastal district of Karnataka, and currently holding the title of the largest district in Karnataka. It is bordered by the state of Goa and Bel ...

(North Kanara),

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

, Belgaum District, and Bijapur District from Bombay state, and Bidar District, Kalaburgi District, and

Raichur District Raichur District is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded by Yadgir district in the north, Bijapur and Bagalkot district in the northwest, Koppal district ...

from Hyderabad state. In 1989, Bangalore Rural district was carved out of Bangalore district. In 1997, Bagalkot district was carved out of Vijayapura district, Chamrajnagar out of Mysore, Gadag out of Dharwad, Haveri out of Dharwad, Koppal out of Raichur, Udupi out of Dakshina Kannada and Yadgir out of Kalaburagi. Davanagere district was created from parts of Bellary, Chitradurga, Dharwad and Shimoga. In 2020, Vijayanagara district was carved out of Ballari district, to become the 31st district in the state. As a result, the world heritage site of Hampi, the erstwhile capital of Vijayanagara empire, is now part of a new district - Vijayanagara.

Legislature

The state legislature is bicameral and consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The Legislative Assembly consists of 224 members with one member nominated by the governor to represent the

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...

community. The term of office of the members is five years and the term of a member elected to the council is six years. The Legislative Council is a permanent body with one-third of its members retiring every two years.

Ministry

The government is headed by the governor who appoints the chief minister and his council of ministers. The governor is appointed for five years and acts as the constitutional head of the state. Even though the governor remains the ceremonial head of the state, the day-to-day running of the government is taken care of by the chief minister and his council of ministers in whom a great deal of legislative powers is vested.. The secretariat headed by the secretary to the governor assists the council of ministers. The council of ministers consists of cabinet ministers, ministers of state and deputy ministers. The chief minister is assisted by the chief secretary, who is the head of the administrative services. As of August 2021, the Government of Karnataka consists of 30 ministers including

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Chief Minister

The Chief Minister of Karnataka is the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

. As per the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

, the

is a state's ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' head, but ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' executive authority rests with the

. Following elections to the

Karnataka Legislative Assembly The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses are ...

, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.

Cabinet

Karnataka Panchayat Raj

This is a 3-tier system in the state with elected bodies at the village (grama), taluka and district (zilla) levels. It ensures greater participation of people and effective implementation of rural development programs. There is a Grama Panchayat for a village (grama) or a group of villages (gramas), a Taluka Panchayat at the taluka level and a Zilla Panchayat at the district (zilla) level. All the 3 institutions are made up of elected representatives and there is no provision for nomination by the governor to any of these councils. Karnataka was the first state in the country to enact the Panchayat Raj Act, incorporating all provisions of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution. In 2014, Karnataka State Grama Panchayats Delimitation Committee was constituted by the government of Karnataka, with Chairman S G Nanjaiahna Mutt and 6 members. The joint secretary of the committee was Dr. Revaiah Odeyar. The report was submitted on October 30, 2014. This resulted in the implementation of Gram Panchayath Elections in 2015. Karnataka Panchayat Administrative Service (KPAS), is the civil service of Karnataka state. The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department conducts exams to recruit candidates for the service. The KPAS officers are usually appointed as Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs). They are trained under the Abdul Nazeer Sab State Institute of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (ANSSIRDPR), Mysuru. The Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 (5) was substituted by Act 44 of 2015 with effect from 25.02.2016, as follows: ''CHAPTER XVI 1 dministration, Inspection, Supervision and Creation of Commissionerate of Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj' Section 232B of the Constitution of the Karnataka Panchayat Administrative Service: The Government shall constitute a Karnataka Panchayat Administrative Service consisting of such category of posts from the rural development and panchayat raj department, the number of posts, scale of pay, method of recruitment and minimum qualifications shall be such as may be prescribed]. Inserted by Act 44 of 2015 with effect from 25.02.2016.

Urban Local Governance

Urban areas in Karnataka are governed by different municipal bodies; 10 Municipal corporation (India), Municipal Corporations, 59 City Municipal Councils, 116 Town Municipal Councils, 97 Town Panchayats and 4 Notified Area Committees. The Municipal Corporations are administered under the State under Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, while the rest are under the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964. The administration at

Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is the administrative body responsible for civic amenities and some infrastructural assets of the Greater Bengaluru metropolitan area. It is the fourth largest Municipal Corporation in India an ...

is overseen by the state government directly, while the Directorate of Municipal Administration does it for the rest of the urban local governments in Karnataka. The categorisation of urban areas is done on the following basis: The Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 mandates constituting both Ward Committees and Area Sabha in each corporation. The rules for setting these up are given in Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Wards Committees) Rules, 2016. Ward Committees in the state have been defunct in cities where they have been formed, with the meetings being erratic or not publicised to the ward members. Since the provision for setting up Ward Committees was only given in the municipal act meant for municipal corporations, only cities with population of 3 lakh or more were mandated to form them. In January 2020, the Urban Development Department of the Karnataka Government announced that Ward Committees would be formed in all urban local bodies in the state, irrespective of their population.

Executive

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of an Indian state is an administrative unit headed by a deputy commissioner or district magistrate, an officer belonging to the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

. The district magistrate or the deputy commissioner is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Karnataka Civil Service and other Karnataka state services. A Deputy Commissioner of Police, an officer belonging to the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (I ...

is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues of the district. The commissioner is assisted by the officers of the Karnataka Police Service and other Karnataka Police officials. A Deputy Conservator of Forests, an officer belonging to the

Indian Forest Service The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. The other two All India Services being the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service. It was constituted in the year 1966 und ...

, is responsible for managing the forests, environment and wildlife related issues of the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Karnataka Forest Service and other Karnataka forest and wildlife officials. Sectoral development is looked after by the district head of each development department such as PWD, Health, Education, Agriculture, Animal husbandry, etc. These officers belong to the State Services.

Police Administration

The state is divided into 30 police districts, 77 sub-divisions, 178 circles, State Police consists of 20 police districts, 6 Police Commissioners at Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Belagavi, Hubli-Dharwad and Kalaburgi cities, 77 sub-divisions, 178 circles, 927 police stations, and 317 police outposts. There are seven ranges: Central Range at Bangalore, Eastern Range at Davanagere, Northern Range at Belagavi, Southern Range at Mysore and Western Range at Mangalore, North Eastern Range Kalaburgi and Ballari range. The government Railway Police is headed by a ADGP of Police. Units that assist the state in law and order include Criminal Investigation Department (Forest Cell, Anti-Dowry Cell, etc.), Dog Squad, Civil Rights Enforcement Wing, Police Wireless and Police Motor Transport Organization and special units. Village Defence Parties protect persons and property in the village and assist the police when necessary. The police force is at times supplemented by Home Guards.

Politics

Karnataka politics is dominated by the

Bharatiya Janata party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

(

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

(INC) and Janata Dal (Secular). In recent election conducted in May 2018 BJP emerged as single largest party with 104 seats leaving behind INC with 79, JDS with 38, BSP with 1 and other 2 independent seats. While

B. S. Yeddyurappa Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), often referred to by his initials BSY, is an Indian politician currently serving as the member of the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary board committee since 17 August 2022, t ...

went ahead with the intention of making the government and requested the governor to allow him to form a government without the numbers though. Governor allowed him to take oath as Chief Minister on 17 May 2018 although his happiness was short-lived, as SC struck down 2 weeks of time provided by the governor for the floor test to just 2 days. He was forced to resign unable to prove the majority. After his resignation H. D. Kumaraswamy was sworn in as the

on 23 May 2019 with absolute majority support from Congress total of 117. In later bypolls JDS+Congress combine won 4 out of 5 seats 3MP & 2 MLA seats making the numbers up by 119. On 23 July 2019 the government headed by H. D. Kumaraswamy fell short of majority in the trust vote due to the resignation of 17 MLAs from the Congress and the JDS. B. S. Yeddiyurappa once again took oath as the chief minister for the 4th time on 26 July 2019.

Elections

Last assembly elections:

2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election The 2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election was held on 12 May 2018 in 222 constituencies to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The election was postponed in Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, following the death of the MLA B. N. Vij ...

The by-elections for the 15 constituencies : 2019 Karnataka Legislative Assembly by-elections

References

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20070311212509/http://www.kar.nic.in/kla/histry.htm * http://www.karnataka.com/govt/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20100619201924/http://kla.kar.nic.in/cabm.htm ; Police * http://www.karnatakastatepolice.org/First.htm ; Judiciary * http://www.ebc-india.com/lawyer/hcourts.htm * http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2003/roct2003/30102003/r301020037.html * http://karnatakajudiciary.kar.nic.in/ ; Transport * http://www.rto.kar.nic.in Transport Department - All RTO's in Karnataka ; LNG * http://www.theoilandgasyear.com/news/asias-largest-fsru-planned-for-karnataka/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Government Of Karnataka Government of Mysore